Following a legal setback, the City of Los Angeles and developer NSB Associates have restarted the environmental review process for a proposed Frank Gehry-designed office complex in Playa Vista.

The project, slated for a roughly 4.5-acre property at 12575 W. Beatrice Street, calls for the construction of a new eight-story building containing approximately 196,000 square feet of offices for rent above 3,400 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and parking for 811 vehicles.  A neighboring structure at 12541 W. Beatrice Street - currently the offices of Gehry Partners - is included in the development site, but is not slated for demolition.

Approvals for the project were issued by the City of Los Angeles in 2017, but appealed shortly afterward by Karney Management, a neighboring property owner, which sought to have entitlements set aside pending further environmental study.  The appeal was rejected by both the City Planning Commission and City Council.

Karney later elevated its fight to the Los Angeles County Superior Court System, filing a lawsuit contending that the project had violated the California Environmental Quality Act.  The result of that lawsuit, issued in January 2020, was a ruling from Judge John A. Torribio which found that the Beatrice Street development's mitigated negative declaration had inadequately considered potential impacts to issues such as aesthetics, noise, and traffic congestion.  While that decision did not set aside land use entitlements granted by the City, it did require that a new environmental study be performed.

Revised building plans presented in the updated initial study are similar to those already approved by the City of Los Angeles.  The mid-rise structure - which would sit atop a three-story parking podium and two subterranean levels - has an exterior of glass and metal panels, with a stepped form used to create terrace decks.  The building would rise to a roughly 155-foot roofline, although mechanical enclosures would extend up to 20 feet higher.

Construction of the office building is now expected to occur over an approximately 18-month period, with completion anticipated in 2024.

The project is the second collaboration between NSB Associates and Gehry, following the construction of a smaller office complex in El SEgundo in 2018.

The Beatrice Avenue development would be the latest in a series of large office complexes built in Playa Vista, following projects from Tishman Speyer and Rockwood Capital.  New developments in the past decade have secured tenants such as Google, Facebook, and Microsoft.